Large scale metrology systems are used to monitor the position or shape of one or more objects during an assembly or manufacturing procedure. There is an ever increasing need to improve the accuracy and performance of the metrology system, reduce the cost of the metrology system, and simplify the design of the metrology system.
One type of large scale metrology system utilizes one or more transmitters located at a known position(s), and one or more receivers that are attached to an object whose location is to be determined. In this type of system, each transmitter can include a light beam generator that generates a pair of moving fan beams, and a strobe light generator that generates a strobe light pulse that is used for determining which transmitter is generating the fan beams. With this design, the distance and direction of the object relative to the transmitter can be determined from when the fan beams impinge on the receivers.
Unfortunately, existing strobe light generators are complex, have relatively slow rise times, and may not generate a uniform beam array. This can lead to azimuthal time slewing errors and a significant amount of calibration. Accordingly, existing strobe light generators are not completely satisfactory.